Subculture Anime Blog

Have you ever thought about dying?

Summary:

A boy stands distracted while waiting for the train. On the screen of the game he is playing, the words “You are alive” appear. As the train approaches, the boy slowly tips towards the edge of the tracks. He catches himself before falling, however, causing him to panic. This boy, Kotake, discusses this with his friends Kaname and Sen-chan at school later. This makes the boys wonder to each other if they have ever thought about dying. Sen-chan clearly states that he hasn’t, before being called down by a girl with a message from a girl named Maki. While the other two boys continue talking, Sen-chan seemingly enjoys himself with the girl downstairs. While Kotake plays a game at home, he gets a phone call from a panicking Kaname. The news he has is that Sen-chan is dead. Elsewhere, three men beat up on a defenseless man in a back alley. Fumika appears to stop them, expressing that her work comes before theirs. Quickly defeating them as they charge towards her, she pulls out a Shigofumi to deliver to the man. Inside the letter is a single blood stained imprint of an infant’s hand. Fumika then leaves, suprising the man who believed she came to save him. Fumika quickly gets a mail message from Kanaka afterwards, for another job.

As Kotake wanders around outside during the day, he overhears many people talking about Sen-chan’s death. Girls describe how they do not understand why those would want to die when they could just run away, and reporters interview students about Sen-chan’s personality. At school, those who knew Sen-chan continue to talk about him. When girls mention that Sen-chan had friends, Kotake wonders about this. Kotake is called to the office, but he is unable to give any information that the teachers want. Kotake wonders about all the things being stated in the media while watching the tv with Kaname on the roof later. Kotake again wonders if he could really be considered Sen-chan’s friend, as he was unable to answer any of the questions he was asked during the day. He goes on to state that he knew nothing about Sen-chan’s dreams or what he was thinking about, but Kaname replies that this is normal. It isn’t possible for one person to truly know what the other is thinking. As Fumika floats down from the sky, Kanaka again wonders about humans’ strange actions. Fumika replies that humans are broken, explaining why they would do such foolish things.

Kaname researches things on his computer at night, while Kotake again watches news about Sen-chan’s death. Kotake believes that nothing stated fits Sen-chan’s personality, wondering if there was a reason for his death. Thinking about Kaname’s words again, Kotake believes that he would still want to know about another person’s feelings. Sen-chan’s father suddenly enters the classroom with a weapon, ordering all of the students not to move. He simply asks for a reason for his son’s death, though none of the panicking students are able to answer. Outside, authorities quickly gather around the school. One of the men expresses that his son is inside, before noticing Fumika not too far away. When she disappears before his eyes, he puts it off as his imagination. When Sen-chan’s father asks for the person his son got along with the most, the class is unable to keep their glances away from Kotake. The only thing Kotake can think about is his previous phone conversation with Kaname. He did not believe his words, as Sen-chan himself stated that he had no reason to die.

After Kotake is unable to give any answers, he turns the question around on Sen-chan’s father. He states that he wishes to know the reason for Sen-chan’s death as well, but Sen-chan’s father does not know either. While forces continue to do their best outside, Nojima Tatsumi continues to worry about his son Kaname. Inside the school, Fumika delivers a Shigofumi from Sen-chan to Kotake. When Sen-chan’s father panics through his belief that it should be him that reads the letter, Fumika threatens him with her own gun. Seeing the gun, Kaname is only able to see a connection with a girl he has seen in the past. Sen-chan’s father begs Kotake to read the letter aloud, so he agrees to. In the letter, Sen-chan brings up the boys’ previous discussion. He states that he has thought about the feelings of falling. It’s not as if he wanted to die, but he did not have much of a reason to live either. With this, Kotake realizes that all Sen-chan did was jump. There was no real other reason for his death. Sen-chan’s father can only believe that this letter is a fake, but Kotake is able to confirm that it is true. Before he is able to give his reasons, however, the officers arrive at the classroom with a flash bomb. As they bring Sen-chan’s father out, he is still unable to believe the letter’s contents. Kotake is finally able to state that he was able to understand by being Sen-chan’s friend, wondering if this is alright. Fumika describes how people cannot be saved while standing on the rooftop, but she is interrupted by Kaname who appears while referring to her as Mikawa. Recalling that he was in the same class as her, he wonders why she shot her father. In a hospital elsewhere, a girl lies unconscious next to a book with the name “Mikawa Kirameki” on it.

Preview: Yuri….in my Shigofumi?

Impression:

Who hasn’t right? I think thats a part of human nature and a question that almost everyone has come across at one point or another in their life. That’s what’s so amazing about this show. I’ll say it again, but the storytelling in this show is so powerful and reflective on real human thoughts and emotion. The concepts of death, suicide, and the reasons for it were things that were presented in Zombie Loan too, so what makes this so much better? Probably the presentation, and how JCStaff has amazingly made it so that some scenes look like cinematography from a movie. The train track scenes from this episode in particular had me saying things like “5 Centimeters per Second” and “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time”. There were also the obvious Suicide Club vibes, but that’s something else. I was definitely reminded that this was on broadcast TV though, with the large black blurs on the side of the screen. I find it quite hilarious that they would censor the father’s gun, but not Fumika’s or the officers’. The media is a funny thing isn’t it? (For those of you who haven’t heard of the news, look here.)

I just can’t get over how spectacular this series is. It’s truly a masterpiece and a work of art so far, and I know I’m not alone in being surprised that I am putting it above even Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei as my favorite series airing this season. I was drowning in amazement while looking at the cloud filled cities that Sen-chan jumped into, and the amazing insight from Kotake that I could instantly relate to. Not only are we getting powerful stand alone arcs, but they have just introduced an interesting twist to Fumika’s background. It looks like, although separated by events, pieces of the Shigofumi story will flow between each arc. And unlike Jigoku Shoujo, we will probably learn more about Fumika gradually rather than right at the end. I’m wondering how many people will appreciate this episode as much as the first two. I know I’m not wrong in saying that the majority of people only noticed the sudden twists and turns at the end, rather than the wonderful direction and production that brought us to the point in the first and second episodes.

Ah, but this is becoming a rant or an editorial that does not belong in my silly summary based blog. Let’s point out the funny things as usual. You’ve got mail! Shigofumi supports the wii! Is this Higurashi? No! It’s the evil censoring of doom! (though still not as bad as KnJ.) Next week has yuri, but that will never overcome my love for “boku”. Oh, and I hope everyone noticed the awesome symbolism with the video games. The child’s bloody hand print was a nice touch too. I LOVE this show.